Perfect for outdoor drinking when the sun comes out, this jug and four tumblers from Jo Clark Design is made from recycled glass, and now has 20% off at £76.

For the grow your own kind of foodie, then these giant printed wooden herb labels will come in very useful whilst things are at the seedling stage. Now with 15% off.

If they’re going to be busy out in the garden, then guarantee they are going to need a sustaining cuppa at some stage. This enamel mug, urging them on in their digging, now has 15% off at £6.80.

I love this print and will be ordering it for my kitchen, and living life by its philosophy! Only reduced by 10%, but is now £13.50.

I’ve written many times about my love of tea towels, and this union jack one is now reduced by 20% to just £8. Great standby gift. Also check out the Chin Chin tea towel (now £7) and the very colourful Tall Flowers one (now 35% off at £9.10).

Just a few lovely things to think about keeping on standby, treating someone to now, or just to cheer up your own day with!

Tomorrow is The Big Lunch, and I’m not just talking about lunch here at Tarver Towers. This is an idea from the Eden Project to just get us together with our neighbours, round the table and have lunch together. Which is a brilliant idea, no matter how many neighbours you invite.

Get six of you together, get the whole street together, just get together. Community is what will help everyone survive these tough times, and there’s no better way in my book of reinforcing the bonds between you than by breaking bread together. Or tucking into cake. Or a burger.

It doesn’t matter what you cook, it doesn’t have to be fancy, it’s just important to get together. The event is not a fundraiser, it’s a morale raiser, so worth giving a go. You won’t get a starter pack now, but who really needs one for lunch? Look, the weather may hold out, so throw an impromptu BBQ. I’m thinking of heading up to Crossroads Farm Shop for some good steak and mince, finding the jug for Pimms, and making some bread buns. There’s loads of lettuce by the table so people can pick their own.

Our biggest lunch lasted from 11.45am to 9pm, so lets see how we get on!

Go on, be friendly! Make lunch whilst the sun shines! And get your diaries out to plan next year’s, which is timed to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee long weekend. Bunting at the ready!

Photo of a great looking street party by Garry Knight on Flickr.

Just a quick post, as I spotted this new flask from Marmite. I’ve written before that I sit most markedly in the hate camp when it comes to the taste of Marmite, but I do love their imagery.

And I love a good flask! This strikes me as more of a flask for tea, rather than for carting round a big, chunky soup. It holds half a litre, so that’s quite enough tea for one or two after a nice country walk. I guess you could make hot Marmite with it, but that would contaminate the flask for ever!

I apologise to those parts of the country it doesn’t apply to, but this has been a fantastic week of Spring sunshine here. The cows from the dairy are back in the fields, the daffs are out, the lawnmowers are growling over the unkempt winter lawns…definitely signs that Winter must be almost done! Which kind of ties in with a book I was sent recently, and the thought of outdoor eating ahead is a happy one! Here’s a few to get you inspired on how to liven up your picnics.

The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches: Recipes, History, and Trivia for Everything Between Sliced Bread – I was sent a review copy of this, and must admit I quite like it! Its not a book I’d have bought for myself, but would make a decent gift. Some great sandwiches, variations, and bits of trivia, that could liven up that most everyday of foodstuffs. Besides, any book that features a chip butty is all right with me! Available for pre-order now, out 5 April.

Savoury Snacks – A Collection of Recipes for Snacks, Hot and Cold, Suitable for Sherry or Cocktail Parties, Picnics, Informal Meals, Late Suppers and … is Expected: With a Note on Savoury Butters by Ambrose Heath – come on, got to have this one just for the title. Ambrose Heath was a prolific food writer from the 30s onwards, and I love his books, and the jacket designs and typography. I’ve a feeling that this book could provide some great retro dishes for any upcoming cocktail parties for the Royal wedding, would feel kind of appropriate, but they’d be transportable as well.

Sunny Days & Easy Living by Lindy Wildsmith – just the title makes me want to be outdoors with something to eat and something cool to drink! This covers barbecues to picnics, elegant outdoor dining to casual family eating and even a few drink suggestions. Caramelised vegetable tarte tatin sounds intriguing, and pineapple and thyme loaf sounds like a good picnic cake, sweet but not too sweet. I’d wash everything down with a Summer Breeze, no matter what it is. Has rum in it, has good name, will drink!

The Great British Picnic Guide by Mark Price – this has it all really: recipes, equipment lists, how to transport the food and a guide to twenty top British picnic sites. It also has a cheats guide in terms of great local producerst to stop at and acquire a picnic from. That’s not cheating, that’s putting fuel in the tank of great British food production! It’s our civic duty!

Picnic: 28 Seasonal Menus with 125 Recipes by Dee Dee Stovel – when you don’t want to have to think about what goes together, dig out this book and just put the whole menu together. I love the themes of some of these though: I want to go berry picking just to have the Berry Picking Picnic, although the Sports Booster Picnic sounds a little out of keeping for this household. And should you be skiing anytime soon, then there’s an Apres Ski menu too! Sounds fun, sort of book again that you may not buy yourself but imagine receiving quite gratefully.

So here’s hoping the sun will last! Get the ginger beer ready, the picnic hamper out (I’d like a new one from Joules please) and check the blanket is not moth eaten, and then pack your cagoule. Just in case!

Fabulously atmospheric evening picnic shot by cripics on Flickr.

I think I’ve been a bit slow to pick up on these, and in fact spotted them in City Super in Hong Kong on my last visit, but am quite keen on the Bobble water bottle. Not only does it look pretty funky (and comes in a big range of colours) but is a portable filter for tap water.

I think more and more of us are aware of our drink miles, as well as our food miles, and bottled water always strikes me as one of the most bonkers things ever. And a Bobble means you can filter tap water wherever you are, with each filter being able to work through 150 litres of water. There are a couple of sizes available, depending on how much water you need during your average day, and replacement filters are easy to get hold of.

When you think about how good our water is to start with, then this just helps it to be that bit more palatable. Plus there’s the knowledge that you’ll have saved the world from all those plastic bottles. Who says being green has to be dull? These are great looking!

You might have noticed, I do write about pork pies a reasonable amount, but living this close to Melton Mowbray it shouldn’t really be that surprising. And most of the household is quite partial to a pork pie or two, but I can’t say it would necessarily be something I’d have thought of buying for a Valentine’s Day gift. But as a few people have been looking, then here’s some thoughts for you:

* Whilst heresy round here, my favourite pork pie is not a Melton Mowbray one. Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies have won Gold at the Great Taste Awards, and me over to eat pork pie, so some achievement! For a serious pork pie lover then a three pound pie might do the trick or a lot of smaller ones, take your pick! The addition of onion marmalade makes these a bit different, and the chilli version peps up any lunch box. You can even order a tiered version for your wedding, or a very big party!

* If they really, really love pork pies, then how about sending them on a course to learn how to make one? It’s one of the dishes you’d learn at the Nick Nairn Cook School on the More Meaty Dishes course, and you get to take it home. And the local scenery would be pretty spectacular too! For pies almost as an art form, then you need to explore our food past with the Pie Making and Pastry course from Historic Food. These are raised pies and a half!

* For something a bit fancy, and a bit different, then try the Poachers Pie from Fortnum & Mason. The pork is topped with a lid of delicious Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, and then little sweet onions. This is a bit like a Ploughmans in pie format. Go large for a very impressive pie!

* The top pie in this house is Mrs King’s Melton Mowbray, and this is Dr T’s absolute favourite. They’ve won so many awards it’s almost boring to mention them, but the taste makes it worthwhile. If you want to extend beyond the Melton Mowbray, then there’s the Pork & Blue Stilton, a Game Pie and even a Pork, Chicken, Apricot and Herb Stuffing one. Plenty to go at!

* Want to go personal? Then try Michael Kirk who offer personalised pork pies. You give them the message, they’ll do the rest. Beats a message on a chocolate heart if they’re a savoury person not sweet.

Definitely be a gift with a difference, something they probably won’t be expecting to unwrap on Valentine’s Day!

Great shot of Mrs King’s Pork Pies at Borough Market by Salim Virji on Flickr.

Can you eat & shop well on the motorway?

Well, not literally on the road, but what’s a foodie to do when travelling the highways and byways of the UK? According to a survey by by Europcar 95% of motorists believe the choice, price and quality of roadside food is unacceptable with 80% saying they have previously gone hungry rather than eat from the selection on offer. And certainly comparing it to what was on offer at the French services it is a rather poor show.

Europcar has teamed up with The Guild of Food Writers to produce the free-to-download Roadside Gastro Guide, to give some options to escape from the motorway and also to celebrate Britain’s local, independently owned eateries. Not just a list of renowned, Michelin-starred, celebrity chef restaurants, this guide tapped into the knowledge of  food writers and broadcasters including Anthony Worrall Thompson and Valentine Warnerto reveal 20 of Britain’s
hidden culinary gems. All are just a short drive off major roads.

Don’t want to do Chieveley services? Try The Crab at Chieveley instead, for anything from breakfast onwards, and is no more than 10 minutes away from the regular services. Stuck on the A12? Try Milsoms Bistro Restaurant in Dedham. The guide contains 20 different suggestions, from the Scottish Highlands to the Dorset coastline. It’s an interesting read, especially as it’s free, although rather surprising that it’s only available as a document, rather than anything more portable or interactive.

If you want something a bit more comprehensive, then there is a 2010 version of Near the Motorways:Affordable Alternatives to Service Stations, which came out in May. There are other books but they seem to be much older, so not necessarily as reliable.

Failing that, back to the picnic hamper and thermos flask!

How to see the regatta?

The British summer calendar clicks on, and today sees the start of Henley Regatta. I’ve always thought Henley sounded splendidly civilised, a bit like the cricket at Lords, just with more water. The gentle splash of oars hitting water, an occasion made for Pimms and cucumber sandwiches, and no need to leave dry land at all in order to enjoy the proceedings.

Apparently, yes, there are things going on other than eating and drinking. How incredible!

If you are attending and are within the Steward’s Enclosure, then there are a heap of dress rules to obey, but some good eating to offest this mild inconvenience. According to the website, one can obtain luncheons and teas, and also partake of a seafood restaurant, as well as a licensed bar or too.

By the time you get to the Regatta enclosure then it becomes lunch and afternoon tea. And it had better be good, as you’re not allowed to take your own. Unless you’re the Hairy Bikers I seem to remember. If you want to self cater, then this is a good guide here, and it sounds like it’s a case of get there early, or pay out the cash.

Now you could get those nice people at Fortnum & Mason to do you a lovely hamper or perhaps pop into the Windsor Farm Shop for a more free form picnic still with royal approval. There is a Waitrose in town as a good fall back, but how about something different on your way in? Try the Chiltern Valley Winery, which would find you plenty of interesting wines, and also beers from Old Luxters Farm Brewery. If you wanted great patisserie and breads, then I would head to Marlow and try out Burgers.

And this is not the time for tatty glasses and plates, so have a look round for some good stuff! I thought John Lewis had upped their game this year and have some good stuff in. I rather like the Kingfisher acrylic stuff, for a more sophisticated choice, and could also be tempted by the Summer Dot range. If you wanted to give this as a gift (and it’s something no one thinks about but often needs) then have a look at the Bright Dot 4 person cooler set. If you’re uninspired by a wedding list, I think going off list for something like this would be acceptable.

If you’re going to do the eco route, then forget most paper plates and their one time usage. Try the Eco Picnic Set by Bob By Post, as this can be used several times over, and then can just go in the compost bin. Good call.

So, have fun around the water, try not to fall in, and just occasionally remember to watch the rowing!

Great shot by winkyintheuk over on Flickr.

Always time for a picnic

Wimbledon, Glyndebourne, cricket at Lords, Party in the Park…the picnic season is well and truly upon us. And lets face it, we’re in the 21st century, which means either go full on modern update to your picnic, or go retro. Need some ideas? Here’s 5 books that might help liven things up.

The Great British Picnic Guide by Mark Price – great mix of fabulous recipes not to mention 20 great places to pack up your picnic and head out to. Mark also gives you a guide on how to transport certain foods to ensure that they arrive in a great state.

Picnics by Hilary Heminway - I love how this book is put together. The contents include Picnics for One or Two, Aerobic Picnics (who knows) and, particularly important for the British weather, the In Case of Rain Picnics. Sounds like a perfect back up plan!

Retro Beach Bash: A Sun Lover’s Guide to Food and Fun – this is part of a range of books that is not easily available, but I’d love the whole set.  This one sounds perfect for planning a vintage Americana trip to the beach. Count me in.

Picnics and Other Outdoor Feasts by Claudia Roden – this is an expanded version of the original 1981 version and gives a whole range of options from traditional to exotic. As you would expect it does include street food from the Middle East and Mediterranean, so would really pep up a dull picnic.

The Urban Picnic: Being an Idiosyncratic and Lyrically Recollected Account of Menus, Recipes, History, Trivia, and Admonitions on the Subject of Alfresco Dining in Cities Both Large and Small - ok, so I just included this one because I think it has to be the longest title I have ever featured, but it does  sound interesting. I would imagine it making a great read as well as having some interesting menu options. If there’s room after the title!

Happy picnicing!

Fabulous retro shot of picnic by the lake by Lamerie on Flickr.

My new picnic blanket, please

I love the retro look, the badges, that set me in mind of old suitcases and travelling. Which can be no better state of mind to enter a picnic with. All I need now is a decent coolbox, and some great weather, and I will be happy to have every meal as a picnic for the next few weeks!

What else do I need though? What makes the perfect picnic for you?